Timbers season preview part 1 - stadium and intangibles

Portland TimbersBefore the season starts on March 19, we take a look at the various pieces making up the Portland Timbers MLS club. Our first entry looks at the park and intangibles surrounding the Timbers. The team is making strides to promote their brand, and taking some unusual steps to reach out to fans.

With the Portland Timbers moving into MLS for the 2011 season, I wanted to take a look at the components making up the inaugural team including the front office. While I expect there will be roster movement this summer when the international transfer window opens, I anticipate the core of this team to remain intact for most of the year. While I’ve already broken down the schedule, I’ll break down the preview into eight distinct areas:

PGE Park is being transformed from a multi purpose stadium just outside the downtown Portland core into a cozy, intimate soccer and football venue. Most MLS cities would give anything to have what Portland possesses with our grounds: easy transit access, downtown location, seats just off the pitch, and a rabid fan base. PGE Park was already able to trap noise fairly well being dug into the ground, but only having essentially two significant seating sections, there was plenty of unused space. By adding full seating sections in the south end and building a complete east stadium wall, seats enclose the entire pitch. Imagine if you will the sounds of the Timbers Army in full chant now having more walls to trap and distribute the noise, and what the stadium construction has created is a one of a kind home pitch advantage.

The Timbers are also investing in the soccer infrastructure in the greater Portland metropolitan area, giving fans the chance to interact more with the club. Their new practice facility will located just off Highway 217 in Beaverton, and will give the team a permanent structure in which to practice. In previous seasons, the club mostly trained at PGE Park but would move to other locations when the stadium was not available. Now, they will have a dedicated area that includes both natural grass and turf fields, giving them the chance to practice on the varying surfaces MLS clubs use. The training facility will also have medical and rehabilitation areas to help players deal with injuries, while the Providence Health Sports Center at the stadium brings more health care professionals close to assist the Timbers anytime.

View full sizeKip Kesgard, community bloggerConstruction is almost complete at PGE Park, the Timbers home stadium. While the team doesn't play a home match there until April 14, construction crews continue to make renovations to transform the stadium into a soccer/football specific park. The team is also making a big announcement on March 14 that could affect the long term future of the stadium.

The Timbers are also busy building their youth academy, which will begin in earnest this summer with the creation of select youth clubs in six cities in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Under the watchful eye of the team, the Oregon Soccer Association, and selected youth coaches, the Timbers will create premier youth teams at various age levels that will play other highly competitive clubs in various tournaments. Nothing prepares talented youngsters more than having dedicated coaches, top flight facilities and matches against superior talent, and the Timbers hope this approach will pay dividends by producing viable soccer talent. The pinnacle of their academy system will remain the Timbers U-23 PDL team, the 2010 PDL champions, whereby collegiate and amateur players can train under the watchful eyes of the Timbers.

Much like the minor league structure employed in baseball, the academy system for soccer targets young players wanting to improve their skills by facing the best players in their age group. They keep a strong relationship with the player’s home clubs, such as school teams, so that they can build a support system to meet the player’s needs, both on and off the pitch. Teams in Europe have employed academies for years, and use it as the face of their player development programs. In the competitive arena of player evaluation, teams must do everything they can to create and identify available players, and I applaud the Timbers for taking this important step. Between creating a one of a kind stadium, practice facilities and the youth academy, they are really building the brand within the soccer community.

View full sizeKip Kesgard, community bloggerThe Timbers enjoy one of the best home pitch advantages in North American soccer, playing in front of sell-out crowds whose noise levels are indeed intense. With the park updating almost complete, fans have only 31 days until MLS comes to Portland.

Being a solid franchise off the playing field is important as well, and the Timbers have responded to community needs time and time again through their various community endeavors. With their foundation providing grants and support for local clubs, the Timbers are doing what they can to promote the benefits of adopting a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise. They are also reaching out to promote the game to interested groups with school assemblies, soccer camps and other appearances. such as the Soccer 101 clinic held on March 12 at adidas America. The Timbers have also enlisted the help of their alumni, selecting five players and a former coach to assist with their endeavors, giving fans the chance to interact with some of the legendary past names of the Timbers.

What these plans tell me is that the Timbers are taking what they do off the pitch as seriously as the team they are creating. Every aspect of the experience is important, and using every available media and opportunity to showcase the Timbers is paramount to push the former USL franchise into the upper echelons of MLS. Fans throughout the world have responded positively to the kit unveiling and the “We Are Timbers” campaign highlighting fans showing off the tools of the lumber trade, and show that the Timbers are indeed a force to reckon with.

There has been late word that there is significant news about the stadium being announced on March 14 at the park, possibly relating to park sponsorship or other player news. We"ll have more after the press conference scheduled later that afternoon.